In Legasa, a small village in the Western Pyrenees of barely 300 inhabitants, each family farmhouse has a name. “In our case, the house is Kamioa and those who live in the house are called Kamiku, hence the name“, explains Ainara Ansa, agronomist engineer, about the artisan cheese factory she opened with her family a little over a month ago next to the Nuevo Teatro Alcalá.
How not to carry that name as a flag when in the cheeses of Kamiku (Calle de Alcalá, 90), formed in 2006, is the DNA of this farming family: Ansa is joined in the company by her husband Alberto Migueltorena, veterinarian, and their three children. “Our youngest son Oihan [whom you can see in the cheese factory’ s networks ] is the promoter of this new project”.
A project that has taken off wonderfully in the capital: “We feel very well received in Madrid, everything has been a sign of affection and encouragement from customers. They tell us that they really like the product, the place and, above all, the service”.
Kamiku’s product: cheeses made with milk from their own sheep.
Kamiku’s cheeses are made exclusively with raw milk from their herd of 4,000 sheep. Then they mature them with a natural rind of molds that they also cultivate: this allows them to obtain a cheese with its own personality “that people recognize when they eat it”, says Ansa. They have 7 varieties of cheese, namely:
- Soft cheese with bifidus, “ideal for salads or for melting” because it has no added fats.
- Camembertiz sheep’s cheese, which “melts in your mouth”.
- A cured cheese matured with a natural rind of native Bertiz molds. It is offered in two curing periods, 5 and 9 months, to compare the differences in flavor and texture.
- Cheese smoked with oak and beech wood, without masking the flavor of the cheese.
- Cheese aged more than one year, with a dry, brittle texture and powerful flavor.
- Cheese matured more than two years, buttery texture and slightly spicy.
The place and the service: cheese tastings and the tasting bar.
The premises has two floors: the first one with the store and bar area and tables to taste their products and the first floor, more intimate and cozy, where in addition to eating you can reserve the space for events.
All its products can be tasted: there are tapas, portions, casseroles, toasts, vegetables from the orchard of Navarre, Iberian ham, canned food from Galicia, anchovies and anchovies from Santoña, cheeks, stuffed peppers, ajoarriero (garlic and garlic sauce)… You can consult the complete menu in this link.
The most popular, says Ainara, is the cheese board where you can try all its varieties. They are accompanied by nuts, homemade quince jelly, toasted breads and assorted jams. And for their cheese tastings paired with different products, you can reserve a place on their website.
Kamiku’s opening hours
The opening hours of the cheese shop-bar are from Wednesday to Sunday from 11:30 am to 11:30 pm.
The best cheese stores in Madrid
Cheese lovers have a wide variety of options in Madrid to taste and take home the best product, whether sheep, cow and more or less cured. In this list we compile some of the cheese stores you have to visit if you are one of them.